5600 SXT settings

First post but I've been getting a lot of information here. Thanks to all the contributors for taking the time to share your knowledge!

I've just installed a new softener and need to do the programming. It's a Fleck 5600 SXT valve with 1.5 cu.ft. of SST-60 media in a 10x54 tank. The BLFC is 0.5 gpm and the DLFC is 2.4 gpm. There is a label that says injector 01 as well, but I have no idea what that means.

The water tested as follows:

PH- 6.9
Iron- 4.56 ppm
Hardness- 18 Grains
TDS- 397

There are currently 2 adults living in the house with 1 3/4 baths and only the usual water users (dishwasher, laundry, normal tub). The well is 110' deep with a 3/4 hp pump.

In the past I've added Iron Out occasionally or as needed and that has been enough to keep the water clear. With this new system I'm going to try Pro Guard resin treatment with a Res-up feeder unless someone tells me it is a bad idea, but for right now, I just want to get the programming setup correctly on the valve.

This system is not correct for your water. Softeners should not be used for low levels of iron removal, let alone high levels of iron removal. It is extremely wasteful, innefficient,...

Please consider getting an iron removal system. Even a cheap birm system, assuming you have no hydrogen sulfide and you have some oxygen in the water, would likely work. A pyrolox system would almost definetly work asuming you have enough water to backwash it. The softener has to be adjusted for the iron, and you should never do low salting on a softener with water that contains iron. According to your numbers, you will be using 2-3 times the normal amount of salt.

That being said, it can be programmed as follows, but... it is a bad idea.

Set the time to 12:01 P.M.

wait 15 seconds

press the up and down arrow buttons simultanesously for 7 seconds to enter the master programming mode

Set the valve type (VT) to ST1B
press the regen button and release to go to next setting (repeat this after every programming mode)

Set CT to Fd

set C to 36 (this is 36000 total grain capacity, this is set low to attempt to keep the iron fouling down and since iron fouling will occur, the capacity of your system will diminish to this level anyway )

H set to 45 (hardness will be set to the actual hardness if you remove the iron first, otherwise a 5 grains per ppm of iron is added.. 18 grains + (5x5ppm Iron) = 43

RS set to SF

SF set to 25, (your system is to small due to the high iron levels, making this system very innefficient thus requiring a higher than normal safety factor)

DO set to 5 (this is usually set to 15, since you have high levels of Iron, you do not want the resin soaking in iron fouled water for days on end, again, this will make the system waste a lot of salt if you are away for any length of time)

RT set to 2:00 (leave as is)

BW or B1 set to 15 minutes (usually set to 3-10 minutes, but since you are using the softener as an iron filter, aggressive backwashing is required)

BD set to 60,

RR set to 5
BF set to 12 ( this will cause the system to regenerate with 12 pounds of salt per cubic foot, this is extremely wasteful but since you are using the system as an iron filter... sigh..., many people would recommend setting the salt to 15 pounds per cubic foot. I dont necessarily disagree. Without iron this would be set to 8 minutes or 8 pounds of salt per cubic foot.)

FM set to t0.7 ( leave as is)

Here are the basic numbers for your efficiencies

With iron removed prior to the softener,

2 people X 70 gallons X 18 grains hardness = 2520 grains per day / 36000 grain system when set properly, = 14 days between regenerations. -15% for variables = approximately 12 days between regenerations.
30 regenrations per year at 12 pounds of salt per regeneration = 365 pounds of salt per year. Approximately 1 pound of salt per day.

With current design and iron levels , 2 people x 70 gallons x 45 = 6300 iron adjusted grains per day / 36000 grain system (iron adjusted again) = 5 days between regenerations, -15% for variables= 4 days between regenerations.
91 regenerations per year at 18 pounds of salt per cubic foot = 1638 pounds of salt per year. Approximately 4.5 pounds of salt per day.

And we wonder why our industry is being so heavily regulated. This type of waste is unnacceptble. Yes this s the way we did it 20 years ago, we also drove cars that got 6 miles to the gallon.

As I have been saying for nearly 20 years, do not use softeners for iron removal.

Life with cold water is different than life with 50F water.
I have been dealing with water at 35F for years and there are things that can be done with a softener that should not be done on water that is not that cold.
Bolder most likely has water temps closer to what we have here in Alaska...

The only changes that I would make..
Hardness comp 48

Capacity at 33k

Safety factor 120 gallons

salt refill time 8 minutes

Gallon reading most likely will be about 560 with the 120 taken into account.
With the 2 of you using around 60gallons per day per person.. that works out to between 4 and 5 days, or 6 at a max.

I do know that using a softener to remove iron isn't the 'best' approach but we've managed with it in the past with the original softener that came with the house and another unit my neighbor gave me since he wasn't using it. Both units were older and smaller than what I'm putting in now and they both lasted roughly 10 years. I also realize that this setup will use a lot of salt but I'm willing to live with that for now.

The previous system was put in by some local outfit and had ozone injection. Sounds great in theory but well...you can guess the story in real life. Also, since then, we've moved and this house is a rental so I really need something completely idiot-proof.

I'd like to install a real iron filter but it has to be something that will run on its own without lots of maintenance. I like the idea of chlorine injection followed by a carbon filter (followed by a softener of course). The water use is of concern to me though, since the house is on a septic system. I'd rather use a lot of salt than over-load the septic field. If someone wants to talk me through how such a system would work or something better, I'm all ears. And once again, thanks for all your help.

It is not a question of the system "lasting", it is a matter of proper applications, environmental concerns, etc... Yes, a softener that is used for iron removal will work for a long time. Chemical stripping and oversalting will make it last, but it should not be done. It makes no sense when iron removal is simple and cheap. The softener will have to regenerate far more often causing way more water to the septic system than the small amount the backwashing that an iron filter will add.

Re: overloading your septic, tripling the salt would be of a much higher concern than the very small amount of water that is required to clean an iron removal system.

Chlorine injection, contact tank, GAC removal is a good option, and for the most part very effective. If chlorine injection is not necessary, a simple iron removal media can work, and is relatively cheap, and uses very little water for backwashing. If the water does not have an adequate amount of oxygen, an air injector can be added for cheap.